You may not be sympathetic to cry baby Republicans running away from the "bailout" bill while blaming Nancy Pelosi's verbal spanking. I'm not, for sure. But few can deny that Pelosi's leadership abilities have surely been taxed beyond her measure during this financial "crisis". (Can someone let Nancy know she shouldn't call for a vote without actually having the votes??)
Now, not to be outdone by Pelosi, Harry Reid seems to be hell bent on making the crisis even worse.
You may have missed this tidbit amidst the clamor surrounding the VP debates..
Insurers dive on Reid's 'bankrupt' quote
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Several big life insurance stocks fell sharply Thursday, dragged down by jitters about their role in the credit crisis and fears sparked by a comment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Wednesday about a potential bankruptcy in the industry.
"We don't have a lot of leeway on time. One of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company. A major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows that's on the verge of going bankrupt. That's what this is all about," Reid said prior to the Senate's approval of the $700 billion bailout bill.
Yikes, Harry! Nothing like starting a run on insurance company stocks!
Steven Schwartz, an analyst who covers insurance companies for Raymond James & Associates, said that even before Reid made his bankruptcy comment, investors were growing worried about life insurers' exposure to real estate as well as "secondary exposure" via investments in troubled finance firms like Lehman Bros, Wachovia and Washington Mutual.
But the comment from Reid clearly caused even more fear.
"Harry Reid didn't help any," Schwartz said.
Go Harry!
So on this remark:
MetLife stock plunges 16% (after a 14% decline the day before)
Hartford falls 33%!
Hancock loses 6%
Prudential down 11%
Principal 15.5%
Go, Harry, go!
Reid did backpedal a bit later, after he had done just about as much damage as he could.
A spokesman for Sen. Reid backtracked a bit Thursday and said that the senator was not aware of any company being in danger of bankruptcy.
"Senator Reid is not personally aware of any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy. He has no special knowledge about [a bankruptcy] nor has he talked to any insurance company officials," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Sen. Reid, in an email to CNNMoney.com.
"Rather, his comments were meant to refer to the conditions in the financial sector generally. He regrets any confusion his comments may have caused," Manley added.
Still, shares of other top life insurers also fell sharply Thursday. Paris-based AXA (AXA) dropped 12.5%%.
Phew! What a week, huh Harry? Nancy?
When can we get these two dopes to stand down? I think it's time for a change. Hillary? Can you please take over for Harry boy?
Take the poll for your choice for a Pelosi replacement!